DDSeeker Posted December 16, 2005 Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 I'm booking a stay in January. I bid up to $145 for a 4* in all midtown zones on PL without success.eleisurelink.com offers the New York Helmsley for $175, all taxes and fees included. (That is equivalent to a $145 PL bid.) I sure that one could argue that the New York Helmsley is probably a 3.5*, but let's leave that out of the argument for the time being.Is eleisurelink.com reputable? Anyone have experience with it? Is it consistently competitive with the PL and HW? Any feedback would be great! Link to comment
thereuare Posted December 16, 2005 Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 What are the date(s) of your stay in January?I've never heard of them, but leaving "the New York Helmsley is not a 4* hotel" out of the argument is the flaw that makes this seem competitive with Priceline/Hotwire, as you're not making an apples-to-apples comparison. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
DDSeeker Posted December 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 Tripadvisor.com gives the New York Helmsley a 4* rating and it has very good reviews. I specifically didn't want to get into this argument because you will always find someone who says a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton isn't a good hotel.Best I can determine, neither PL nor HW offer the New York Helmsley. Consequently, the argument you made that this is an apples-to-oranges comparison to the two big opaque services would always exist. After all, it would only be an individual's personal speculation how those services would rate it. Unfortunately, I guess I didn't succeed in eliminating that criticism. And I doubt that the fact that the New York Helmsley doesn't participate in the tradition opaque services has much bearing on the quality of the property.That said, my travel dates are Jan 18-20. Link to comment
thereuare Posted December 16, 2005 Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 Not sure if the rates went up, but at the above site this is what i currently get for your dates:New York HelmsleyCheck-in: 1/18/2006Check-out: 1/20/2006$194.00 avg. rate (all-in)If this is the rate you're currenlty seeing, this property can be had cheaper thru Expedia (which i don't generally consider to be competitive with the opaque suppliers)With the above noted, rates do not appear to be too high for these dates, so i suspect you may have better luck with Priceline in the next few weeks. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
DDSeeker Posted December 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 eleisurelink.com is running a special on the Helmsley. With taxes and fees, it comes out less than Expedia.I asked for a quote on the Intercontinental The Barkley, too. They didn't have availability on my dates.My goal is to get a good hotel at a good price. The fact that Expedia is generally not competitive with the opaque services is not all that relevent. The New York York Helmsley apparently does not participate in the opaque services. I must evalute the New York Helmsley against the opaque services, though. If I can get a good deal outside of the opaque services, I will. It is possible that I can get a good quality hotel at a good price outside of the opaque services. In fact, being able to determine the precise location beforehand is a big plus.I find it interesting that Expedia rates the New York Helmsley a 3.5*. Expedia also rates the Grand Hyatt (a common MTE 4* on Priceline) to be a 3.5*. Link to comment
powerplantop Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 It looks like the HELMSLEY is offering discount rates thru travel agents. I see a price of 155.70. before taxes. The Intercontinental Barkley is not sold out but they are not offering discounts. Rates start at 289. Link to comment
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